


Messages

by sociologize



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Boys Kissing, Finn's Instagram Is a Problem, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Sex, Indulgent nonsense, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 12:16:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16346579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sociologize/pseuds/sociologize
Summary: "He's . . . he's gotta be doing it on purpose, right?"Seth had found himself asking that question a thousand times over the past few weeks, whenever he signed into Twitter or Instagram and saw a picture - that he knew was going to be there, mind you, because he'd watched the man post it after he had been the one to take it.  But it was one thing to take the picture and another to see it afterwards, in the privacy of a rental or a hotel room or his own home, where his mind was free to wander to places he didn't want it wandering.(Finn Balor's Instagram is a problem.  It's just more of a problem for some than it is for others)





	Messages

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alilyinhighgarden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alilyinhighgarden/gifts).



> Very obviously inspired by "The Lovers" fanart by major_kira_ posted on Finn's instagram way back in March. And also inspired by Finn being a giant damn tease on Instagram, too.

"He's . . . he's gotta be doing it on purpose, right?"

Seth had found himself asking that question a thousand times over the past few weeks, whenever he signed into Twitter or Instagram and saw a picture - that he knew was going to be there, mind you, because he'd watched the man post it after _he_ had been the one to take it.  But it was one thing to take the picture and another to see it afterwards, in the privacy of a rental or a hotel room or his own home, where his mind was free to wander to places he didn't want it wandering.  And every time, especially lately, he'd have to physically shake himself out of it, shove his phone as far away from him as possible, and stop his mind from wandering to places he didn't need - or want - it wandering.  

He knew Finn Balor liked to tease - or troll, that's how others had put it - troll his followers on his social media accounts, posting things that would make them yell and scream and laugh and wonder if he was doing it on accident or doing it on purpose or being a deliberate tease because he _could_ , but recently . . . recently Seth had to wonder if he was doing it purposely to Seth, too.

Part of it was the evidence, and Seth had _plenty_ of evidence.  But a tiny, tiny part was wistful thinking, a part that Seth didn't acknowledge for the sake of his sanity and for a myriad of other reasons.

All of it had started innocently enough, though.  In the weeks leading up to Elimination Chamber he and Finn had been tagging together when they weren't wrestling each other, and it meant they found themselves in each other's company far more often than what had been normal.  Finn had posted fanart - which was normal, he did it all the time and Seth knew he did; in fact, Finn would sometimes catch him in the hallway and show him, sometimes even ask him which one he should post first, like Seth's opinion actually mattered.  Only this time, with this particular post, he hadn't asked and Seth had checked his phone one morning and nearly choked on his coffee when he'd found the post.

Art of him and Seth, resembling the tarot card for The Lovers.

He knew, at least, that tarot cards had meanings other than just what they showed on the card.  He knew that the placement meant something, and where it came up during a reading meant something, and he knew that the card itself had all sorts of different meanings and could be interpreted all sorts of different ways and he could logic it out for hours if he just let his mind go.  But even so, even if he let his mind run with that thought, even if he tried not to put too much meaning into a single post of fanart, he was still stuck on it.

( _The Lovers,_  he learned later, when he couldn't stand it anymore and ended up googling it, stood for relationships and choices, and that - that wasn't so bad, right?  It was just fanart and okay, he and Finn did have a relationship - but it was a friendship, so that fell into the realm that the card covered, didn't it? Of course it did.)

At least that made it easier to shove the thought to the back of his mind, deeply enough that he'd never have to think about it again - at least anytime soon.  And when he saw Finn next he didn't even bring it up, even when Finn laughed at him for the accidental dirty look he gave him (which was absolutely by accident because he hadn't meant to and he slipped.  Because he hadn't shoved the thought down as deeply as he thought at first and _damn him_ ) and Finn had stopped him later to apologize, like Seth was genuinely _upset_ .  And Seth shook it off, shoved the thought deeper than before, and assured Finn that no, it was fine, he was _fine_ , and Finn hadn't done anything wrong.  It never came up again.

Not in that way, at least.

But for all that Seth was having issues lately Finn was a welcomed, more frequent addition in his life, especially in Dean's absence.  He'd felt like he'd been running in place, spinning his wheels since Dean had been injured, like he was going nowhere and Elimination Chamber was going to change that, he was certain of it.  But then he'd been thrown together with Finn on house shows to team together, despite both of them technically being opponents, and it was a welcome change from the norm. And even on TV - they didn't try to take each other out, they didn't try to kill each other, it was a friendly rivalry if anything.  A big change from what Seth was used to, and a huge relief to part of him that still half-expected him to get what he deserved for all the shit he'd pulled in the past. Everything was in good fun, and if they did happen to slip and punch one while the other wasn't looking, the exchange of sheepish smiles backstage were all the apology needed.

Finn was filling a void that Dean had left behind.  It wasn't a replacement, because no one in this world could replace Dean Ambrose, but it was something different, something . . . new.  Dean and Seth had only really just started rebuilding their friendship again, _really_ building it after the years of hell they'd put each other through - Seth put Dean through, really - and all it took was one night to send it all crashing down.  He had his friend back in some ways and the rest was left unfinished, left to wait until Dean was healed and back in action, and who knew when that would be.

Seth had Roman, of course; Roman a steady, cool presence in his life he hadn't realized he'd desperately missed until he had it back again, but Roman was also on the title hunt.  He was focused, far more focused than ever on getting the title. He remembered what Roman was like, when laser-focused on something with very little room for focus elsewhere that wasn't family -

("You're still my little brother, idiot."  Roman had said, shortly after Dean had told him how bad the injury was, and Seth had grumbled something to the effect of "You don't have to keep an eye on me." because Dean had told Roman to.  Because Seth had felt so _guilty_ afterwards, and Roman had rolled his eyes and just said it so easily, shoved his head and walked off like it was that easy, like the last couple of years had never happened.)

\- but Seth knew what that focus was like.  And with Roman it was one thing, but when it came to Seth, he couldn't let it consume him anymore, because he had, once.  He had and it had destroyed everything - because he let it, he'd destroyed it himself with a steel chair and a plan that he still heard about to this day.  He could be laser-focused, but he'd had to learn how to do it a different way, without shutting everyone out. And it was hard, and he envied the way Roman seemed to manage it so easily.

But Finn - Finn wasn't Dean Ambrose, not by a longshot.  And he wasn't Roman Reigns, either. Dean was untamed energy, a constant force of movement that never sat still even when they were driving, loud and brash and full of bad jokes and off-key singing.  Roman was cool, calm energy that was quiet when he needed to be and intense when he wanted to be. Who hummed under his breath along with the radio and had even worse jokes than Dean sometimes, but was a presence no matter what he did.  They were familiar and comforting, something Seth was used to, a sense of _home_ and _warmth_ and _brotherhood_ that even now was still healing in certain ways, hadn't broken as badly as everyone once thought.

Finn didn't replace either of them, but he still filled a void Seth hadn't known was there.  He was calm and quiet but in a different way than he was used to, and a positive presence most of the time regardless of how the night had gone.  And that was strange too, but in a - Seth wasn't sure when he'd decided a "good" way, but he had, and that was that. Finn sang along with the songs he knew and his singing wasn't that much better than Dean's, and his the times he did grow quiet weren't nearly as filling as Roman's were, but it was - nice, Seth decided.

And it wasn't as if the silences lasted long between them.  They'd end up exchanging stories between them, stories about wrestling on the indies, here in the states or in Japan, and while they'd heard of each other before coming to WWE - because of course they had, everyone knew of everyone at the very least - they'd never wrestled each other.  Seth had told his own stories a hundred times, to Dean and Roman and anyone else he'd traveled with when the topic came up, but one more time with Finn didn't feel that way at all, especially with how eager Finn was to hear about them. And especially how eager Seth was to hear Finn's stories.  In an odd way he felt like he was back in FCW again, sharing stories late at night in a run down room because the last thing he wanted to do was sleep and that's all he had in common with his roommate, wrestling stories.

They ended up teaming together on and off all the way through Elimination Chamber and through Wrestlemania, despite both of them being opponents for the Intercontinental Title.  And again, the rivalry was fun and lighthearted, both men enjoying themselves without it turning into something ugly, even if there had been a few attempts on The Miz's part. All it had been was two great wrestlers going after an equally great title, and Seth had been more than fine with that.  And Seth coming out on top and winning at Mania hadn't changed a thing, thankfully. It had been something he worried about, and it was odd that he _was_ worried, because it hadn't come until after the match and he was backstage with the title and it hit him that things could change.

But when he'd slipped out of the after-party and found Finn doing the same, and they decided to grab some food together and camp out in one of their rooms instead for the rest of the night and talk, the worry was immediately put to rest and Seth felt pretty stupid.  Relieved, but stupid. Because Finn wasn't like that. He was learning Finn was very different from what he expected, and he liked it.

And that was how it started, all innocent and friendly.  Finn and Seth navigating this still fairly new friendship and Finn posting teasing photos on Instagram every so often that would make Seth laugh, about watching his back or having eyes in the back of his head or keeping his friends close while implying the rest, and that was fine.  More than fine, because Finn would post the pictures with Seth sitting right there, snickering to himself about it. It was all innocent fun and the fans seemed to enjoy it, The Lovers fanart notwithstanding because He Was Not Thinking About That.

And then, before Seth could realize what was happening, it changed.  It changed without warning and that thought Seth had shoved so far deep down that he'd never think about again came swimming to the surface without his permission.

They were in South Africa for a tour, and despite having a match against each other they had been hanging out, like they usually did.  Sat on equipment in one of the hallways that would lead to the curtain, just waiting until it was time to start warming up - that was when they would actually go their separate ways, to warm up in private before their match.  And Finn, as casually as he did everything, held his phone out to Seth and asked, "Would you take a picture of me?"

"Sure."  And Seth had agreed as easily as always, held up the phone and - paused, for perhaps a half-second too long.  

Now, Seth would have to be stupid - _really_ stupid, like, idiotic, foolish, and any other related word - not to notice that Finn was a good-looking guy.  Hell, he'd have to be freakin' deaf not to hear the way the girls screamed when he'd walk down the ramp sometimes, or blind not to see some of the comments Finn would get on some of his posts.  And while he'd noticed this fact of the universe - because it was a fact, let's be real here - he hadn't really _noticed_.  At least, not until lately.  And it wasn't any one thing that had made him sit up and take note, it just . . . happened.  Like one day he woke up and his brain decided that he was going to notice Finn Balor was really nice to look at and it was going to acknowledge it without his permission or something.

His brain had to stop that, making decisions like that without first thinking them through, as thoroughly as possible, because that seemed like something that should be thought out as thoroughly as possible.  And something the rest of him should agree with, too.

Finn didn't seem to notice and if he did he didn't say anything, so Seth just took the photo and handed the phone back.  And it was hard not to smile in response to Finn's smile, his simple "thank you" like it genuinely meant something that Seth would do him such a simple favor.  But then again, Finn was genuine about a lot of things. It was that good kind of weird Seth experienced a lot with Finn; that he was good weird about a lot of things in a lot of ways.  Good weird.

Later that night, alone in his hotel with nothing to do before bed but check his phone, he couldn't help but groan when he finally logged into his own Instagram.  There was the photo, and it was definitely . . . a photo. The kind that the fans were going to go crazy over all week. The kind that he was absolutely not going to stare at any longer than necessary, because he'd taken the damn thing, so why would he want to stare at it?  He wasn't going to, though, because he was shutting down his phone and putting it away and going to bed.

Any minute now.

"For god's sake."  He muttered out loud, half-groaned as he shook himself, turned his phone _off_ and shoved it onto the bedside table before he could get caught up in - in - in staring at a damn picture again.  What the hell was wrong with him?

Maybe he was making something out of nothing.  He had to be, because the next time - the next few times Finn asked him to play photographer, it was nothing but innocent photos.  Nothing that left him staring at his phone like an idiot.

At least until Money In The Bank when Finn asked him again.  But since the time in South Africa, Seth had been _on-guard_ , and he saw the look on Finn's face - because he could tell, somehow, that Finn was up to something.  He didn't know how he knew, but he _knew_.  And he gave the older man a suspicious look even as he took the offered phone.  "What?" Finn asked, like had no idea. Maybe he didn't.

"Is this going to be like the last one?"  He secretly hoped that Finn didn't ask him to specify which last one Seth was talking about.

Apparently he didn't have to, because Finn grinned at him.  He wasn't sure he liked that grin. "Maybe. Does it bother you?"

"Why would it bother me?"  Seth answered immediately, and he hated how defensive he sounded.  He cleared his throat and fiddled to open the camera app. "It doesn't bother me, I'm just wondering."  He added, and congratulated himself on sounding closer to disinterested.

Finn laughed like he was privy to some joke Seth wasn't in on, or he was just amused that Seth was suspicious over a picture, or - Seth wasn't sure.  "I'm just having a little fun." Finn said and if it was supposed to sound innocent, Seth knew otherwise. "There's nothing wrong with that, right?"  
  
"Is that what you call it."  Seth muttered, making Finn laugh again.

"I can ask someone else to take it?"  Finn offered, like he thought Seth was actually bothered by it all despite him saying otherwise, and for some reason the idea sounded terrible.  Seth shook his head.

"Nah, I'll do it.  Shut up, stop laughing so I can take the damn thing."

It was absolutely like the last time.

It was _worse_ than last time.

Seth didn't look - and he didn't _go_ looking for it mind you, he was checking his phone like he always did before bed, _thank you_ \- until he was in the safety of his hotel room.  And - he was pretty damn sure that an "innocent" picture wasn't supposed to illicit a reaction like _this_ in a person, because he was definitely feeling _something_ about it.  It made heat pool in the pit of his belly and made the room a little too hot for his liking, even after he kicked off the covers and - it ended up being something he had to take care of in the shower, because he was only a man and he wasn't _blind_ , dammit, and look, it'd been a long time and -

Now he was making excuses for himself to himself.  Great.

Finn didn't stop asking Seth to take pictures after that, here and there when they were together., but Seth was pretty damn sure that Finn was explicitly choosing ones to elicit a reaction now.  But only pretty sure, because Finn was still asking _him_ for his opinion, like Seth wanted any part in whatever the hell Finn was doing to his followers with the kind of pictures he was posting lately.  He never gave any warning, either; they'd just be sitting there together before or after a show, on their phones and talking, and all of a suddenly Finn would lean in close and spring it on him, like - like he knew if Seth had any inkling of what Finn was up to Seth would take off down the hallway before he could ask.  And Seth _wouldn't_ go running, god, he wasn't that bad, but he would sure as hell find a way out of it.  But he still played along, even as Finn would lean into his space and laugh at some of the faces Seth made, like he had no idea _what_ was going through Seth's mind as this was all going on, and thank him for his input and post the stupid fucking picture.

And Seth made an _effort_ not to go looking afterwards, and not to read the comments either - because the last time he did that he'd felt a new something he couldn't put a word to, something that burned deep in his chest and made him feel a kind of anger that - that clawed in a really strange way and it wasn't something he'd felt in a long, long time.  But even back then he couldn't figure out what word fit the feeling, and what the hell was wrong with him? Seriously.

So his friend liked to post pictures, and sometimes he acknowledged that they were really good pictures.  And sometimes they were _really_ good and he had to take a shower twice in one night.   _So what_.

God, but Finn was doing it on purpose, right?  He had to be.

Playing along, ignoring the comments and pretending Finn wasn't doing anything other than being himself was working just fine for a while.  Like he could ignore that Finn was being a tease or a troll or whatever word was being used that day perfectly well, until for some awful reason Finn got it into his head that he had to take it up a level.

And he had to do it when Seth was on the road and with no warning whatsoever.

"What the _fuck_."  Seth said aloud and then immediately regretted it when Roman, who had been driving for this part of the trip, made a curious noise in response and glanced over.  Seth dropped his phone into his lap - a mistake, because that was equally suspicious - and cleared his throat, trying to act like he wasn't suspicious at all. "Uh, sorry.  It's nothing."

Roman wasn't buying it.

"Don't sound like nothing."  Seth couldn't help but wince just a little at the tone of his voice.  Roman had a lot of different voices, from the one people heard on television, the cool, powerful wrestler to the one not many heard, the caring father on the phone with his kids or sometimes Seth and Dean when he cared too damn much, but this one - this was the big brother one, the one that latched onto Seth's suspicious outburst and actions and was keyed in, ready to pull the damn car over if he had to get a straight answer out of him.  And Roman would do it - _had_ done it in fact, once or twice in the past when they were younger and Seth and Dean wouldn't answer a question the way he wanted them to, because Roman may not have liked being the leader back then, but damned if he took to the big brother role like it was made for him.  He wouldn't put it past him to do it now, even if Dean wasn't with them to egg him on.

"It's just - Balor, you know, he posts weird stuff sometimes."  Seth mutered and hoped the vague answer would be enough. Hoped that didn't sound suspicious either, because why should he care what Finn was posting?  But he didn't care, did he? Why the fuck did he care?

"I know some of it."  Roman agreed. "But what's he posting now that's got you all - ?"  He trailed off and freed a hand from the steering wheel to gesture, but Seth saw the grin on his face and briefly considered throwing himself out the passenger door to escape the Hell he'd just put himself into.

"Something about baby oil."  Seth muttered just to avoid the stand-off he knew would come if he didn't answer.  He was going to be mature about this and get it over with so the rest of the night wouldn't be Roman teasing him and trying to get answers out of him.  Or even worse, Roman going looking for himself. He didn't need that.

"So he's teasing his Twitter followers again or something?"  Roman seemed to accept the answer with a laugh, his attention turned back to the road, and Seth breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"Or something."  Seth had no idea what Finn was doing.  Then again, he wasn't sure of anything anymore, when it came to Finn and his stupid photos.

The next night at the arena Finn, of course asked if Seth would be his photographer and Seth, idiot that he was, accepted, and Finn handed over his phone as innocent as he _never_ was, but this time instead of a photo he asked him to record a video instead.

And this time Seth knew he was being suspicious.  Because Finn _was_ being suspicious, all coy smiles and looks and that damned bottle of baby oil was on the table, placed there when Seth was looking and like Finn didn't know Seth knew what the fuck he was up to.  Seth crossed his arms and he did not want to look defensive or suspicious but he probably did. And Finn's smile _widened_ , like getting a reaction out of Seth was part of this whole thing.

"You're going to kill your followers."  Seth said as blandly as he could, and he made sure to resist the smile threatening to break out on his face when Finn burst into laughter and nearly dropped his jacket.  A few of the stage crew glanced over and quickly made an exit, which was probably the wisest decision they'd ever made and Seth kind of wished he'd decided to join them. Even knowing he'd see this later because he'd probably end up looking for it.  Because he was an idiot.

"I'm not doing anything, I swear."  Finn said, laughter still in his voice.  Seth gave him a dubious look and Finn held up a hand.  "I swear." He repeated and there was something downight _impish_ about his expression that Seth decided he hated.  Hated in the same way he hated Finn's photos.

"Killing them."  Seth muttered as he reluctantly held up the phone, thumbing open the camera app.  He gave Finn a look over the phone, eyes narrowing when Finn shot him another grin.  "And here I thought you were a nice guy."  
  
"I am a nice guy."  Finn reached out to direct the camera down and Seth didn't jump when their hands touched, because that was cliche and stupid and he wasn't going to admit to it.  "But I like to have fun, too. Don't you?"

"Not by trolling my Twitter."  The worst he did was tweet about football, he figured, and that was once a year and he ended up getting the worst of it rather than the other way around.  Finn made a considering noise, but thankfully the conversation briefly turned to = whatever the hell Finn wanted Seth to film. And despite Seth's reservations about being an accessory to mass murder (" _Killing them_." He muttered one more time.) he recorded it just like Finn wanted and handed the phone back immediately after.

"You should."  Finn said as he tucked the phone into his bag and turned back to Seth, pulling on his jacket.

"Should?"  Finn and Seth had different matches that night, but Seth had planned to hang around near the curtain anyway to watch Finn's match regardless.  Because yeah, he was a man and he could appreciate Finn the person, who was a giant fucking tease and posted stupid photos or whatever, but he also appreciated Finn the wrestler, who put on amazing matches every night, and he didn't want to miss tonight's show.  "Should what?"

"Have a little fun."  Finn answered. And as Seth watched, Finn took a deliberate step back and looked Seth up and down, and that wasn't just a - a look, that wasn't just a look you _gave_ someone for no reason at all.  That was a look of - of _something_.  But it was there and gone almost as fast as it happened and Finn was just grinning at him again.  Just his regular grin. "You'd kill 'em too."

And then he was off through the curtain to wait for his music to play, and Seth was left standing there trying to process what the hell just happened.

The only thing that really clicked in his head was: dear god, it was something else.  It was something else, wasn't it? It was. He was right.

Thankfully - or not?  Did he want time to process? - his match was right after Finn's, and there was no damn way he was going out there and wrestling with all of this on his mind.  And especially not because he knew Finn was going to be watching; just like he'd sit and watch Finn's matches, he'd caught Finn doing the same with his, and that was how they'd gotten into the habit of hanging out afterwards, because Finn was always right there when he came through the curtain.  So he was just going to shove it in a box, shove into the back of his mind, and go out there and put on a great match.

And he wasn't going to give Finn the satisfaction of knowing he'd gotten a rise out of him.  Literally or figuratively.

So after the show, Seth didn't say a word about it.  Any of it. And neither did Finn, for that matter. Things proceeded as they normally did between them, they hung out for a while and road to the hotel together, went their separate ways.  And Seth didn't look for the video later because he'd _recorded_ it, and if he took a second shower before bed because he'd thought about it too much, well, that was because he was an idiot and Finn was a goddamn tease and he went to bed cursing Finn Balor's name and whatever the fuck he was trying to do.

It really shouldn't have been a surprise when a few days later Finn was asking him to play cameraman again, with the same coy smile and the same bottle of baby oil, only this time it was after his match and when he was on his way out of catering with a plate of carrots to snack on.  There was no promise of doing nothing this time, though, like Finn knew Seth would do it anyway. Finn just asked, "Hey, wanna record something for me again?" And Seth, the biggest idiot in the universe, agreed.

He immediately regretted it.  Like, instant regret, because this time - it may have looked like Finn was looking at the camera, but he was sure Finn was looking at _him_ too, and - and he couldn't help but swallow, like he'd been caught watching something he wasn't supposed to be watching.

Or caught watching something he was _supposed_ to be watching.

Either way he was rooted to the spot, staring, and that he even remembered to hit end on the recording was a damn miracle.  Finn had to reach out to take the phone from him, though, because Seth seemed to have forgotten it was in his hand even though he'd just watched the screen go black.

"Something wrong?"  Finn asked, and the tone of his voice was enough to snap Seth back into his head.

"You - don't even _try_ to play innocent."  He blurted out as he felt heat creep up the back of his neck, and Finn grinned at him like that was exactly what he was trying to do.  "What the hell was that? What are you even doing?"  
  
To me, his mind added.  What are you even doing _to me_.

"Same thing I'm always doing?"  Finn tilted his head, almost curious, watching as Seth seemed to war with himself and how to react.  And oh, was Seth warring with himself. Warring with a lot of things and reactions he could have. "Does it bother you?"

Finn had asked him that once and he had said it hadn't, because at the time it had been true.  But _now_ \- now he wasn't sure.  Now he wasn't sure because he had no idea why Finn was doing it, and if it was with a purpose, and if that purpose included Seth - because it had to, right?  It definitely had to - and _other people_ were going to see it and that was a strange thing to be bothered by.  They weren't even - but Finn was a grown-ass man doing his own thing and it was none of Seth's business and -

He hadn't answered Finn yet.  And Finn was still grinning at him, grinning _wider_ because he hadn't given an answer.  Oh god.

"What if it does?"  The words were out of his mouth before his brain could check them and give them the okay to leave, and Finn - Finn looked _delighted_ , as if that was the exact answer he wanted.  Like Seth was playing right into his hands.

"Then maybe you should do something about it."  Finn answered, the grin not faltering once. It was almost cocky, confident, everything Finn was in the ring but something else, too, something Seth didn't see when they were wrestling.  He watched as Finn picked up his jacket and startled a little when he felt Finn pat him on the arm. "I've gotta grab a shower, I'll see you later, mate."  
  
And that was it.  Off to the showers he went, leaving Seth behind, utterly floored and with no fucking clue what to think.  

Finn was good at that, Seth thought.  He was _really good_ at shorting out Seth's brain.

Back at his hotel - and after a second shower, because he'd thought _too much_ and he was just a man, dammit - Seth spent the rest of the night trying not to think about things while also very seriously considering smothering himself with his pillow.  Finn Balor was doing things to him, _doing things_ , and it wasn't fair because he knew Finn was absolutely doing it on purpose now.  He was fucking doing it _on purpose_ and it was _working_.

It was frustrating and a little exciting but also a little frightening, because Seth could count the number of friends he had on one hand.  And one of those friends was out on the injured list, and the other was - doing whatever the fuck you wanted to call this with pictures and videos (flirting?  Was it flirting?) and he didn't want to think too deeply into it and read it wrong and completely ruin a friendship he actually really, really appreciated. And - god, it wasn't as if he could do something normal like _talk_ to Finn, because he was really, really bad at talking about his feelings.

God, he was so screwed.  

The next night he didn't see Finn long enough to even consider talking to him about it and that was fine, that was - good, that gave him plenty of time to figure things out at a pace he could set.  They don't ride together that night for whatever reason, choosing instead to just catch rides back to the hotel when they're done because it isn't that far, and by chance Seth opened his phone up and checked Twitter on a whim.

And there it was, a video waiting.  A video he hadn't filmed.

Seth felt a surge of - of something, that same something he still couldn't put a word to.  It can't be jealousy, because that only happened when you were _with_ someone, and he wasn't with Finn.  But it was one of _those_ videos - only with - god, peanut butter?  The fuck was he thinking? - and again, he felt like Finn was looking at _him_ even if he wasn't even there.  He felt it like he felt the heat stirring in the bottom of his belly and the heat rising in his face and he was very glad that he was alone because he's pretty sure the noise he made out loud would've sparked questions he didn't want to answer.

Seth wasn't the kind of guy who goes into things without a plan, but he knew Finn was staying at the same hotel - they actually had plans to grab coffee in the morning, a strange little tradition that had carried over from rehab - so he knew where Finn was, and he knew what room Finn was staying in, because that was where they were meeting.  A floor up from his, down the hall, Finn had pointed it out as they'd left earlier, as if Seth couldn't have found it on his own.

(Suspicious in hindsight, something Seth put away for further consideration later.)

But he usually had a plan, and as he rode the elevator up to his floor and dropped off his bags and his phone in his room, grabbed only the room key and took the stairs to the next floor to head for Finn's room, he realized he didn't have a plan at all.  All his mind would supply him with was "go talk to him" and then it would blank out, short-circuit, like it too wanted to wait and see what would happened. Seth could predict things five, six, ten steps ahead in a wrestling match no problem, but with this he couldn't even predict his own steps, let alone Finn's.  It was maddening, frustrating, exciting, frightening -

Finn opened the door after he knocked - and that felt like an eternity, waiting for him to answer the door - and for the briefest moment he looked honest-to-god surprised to see Seth.  But he cleared his throat, cleared the surprise from his face, and stepped aside to let him in. "Hey." He said as Seth stepped in, shutting the door behind him. "Everything all right?"

Seth had come by once or twice like this in the past just to talk.  Serious talks, talks you had with friends you trusted enough to admit to what was bothering you or getting on your nerves, and Finn looked concerned, like that's what he thought Seth was here for now.  And - god, he wanted to laugh because for all that Finn had been teasing him lately, he was still a good friend, too. Seth didn't think he deserved that and he wanted to tell him as much, but he already knew what Finn would say in response.  Something to the effect of "Shut up and stop talking like that", like Seth was an idiot for thinking like that about himself.

Because no one would think about Seth that way.  No one who mattered. And God, he needed to shut his brain the fuck down.

"Yeah - I'm fine, man."  The laugh slipped out anyway, a weak huffy breathless thing.  Because this was ridiculous, wasn't it? He came here without a plan to call Finn out on whatever the hell he was doing, and now that he was here he had no idea what he was actually going to say.  And saying he was fine was - it wasn't a lie, not really, but in the context of _why_ he was here - yeah, it was a big fucking lie.  "Nothing's wrong." He clarified, so he wouldn't be a liar.  He fixed Finn with a _look_.  "I saw your newest video."

There, he said it.  Now it was out there.  

Finn was not an easy person to catch off-guard and that was twice now that Seth had managed it, in the span of five minutes, brief looks of surprise that were there and gone.  This time, however, Finn bursts into laughter so surprised and genuine that Seth couldn't help but smile along. That like Seth, he couldn't believe he was here. But while Seth was having a war of emotions and thoughts and other things in his head, Finn just grinned and stepped closer, into Seth's space, like he was offering all the answers to Seth's questions and all he had to do was ask.  All he had to do was open his mouth and ask a question and Finn would give him the answer he was looking for. _Would_ have done it this entire time.

"What about it?"  It wasn't a challenge but at the same time it felt like it was.  Finn was shorter than Seth by a few inches, but Finn had a presence about him regardless of them being in the ring or not.  One that, even if Seth had to tilt his head down to look at him, he still felt like they were eye to eye.

When Finn next spoke, though - _that_ was a challenging tone, a glint in his eye, the cock-sure attitude Seth was more than familiar with.  "Gonna do something about it, mate?"

This was usually the part where his brain would kick in, explode with a thousand and one plans and ideas.  By now, with a challenge blatantly thrown in his face like this, he'd have a clue as to how to proceed. A hint, a whisper of _something_ that would lead him.

Instead, his mind was still blessedly, cursedly blank.  Thanks for nothing.

But the rest of him knew what to do.  His brain might have been useless with its plans and plotting but his hands weren't, and they happily jerked upward to tangle in Finn's shirt - a T-shirt, he noted vaguely, that wasn't the button-downs he usually wore, and wouldn't tear a button loose if he pulled Finn closer, those scant few inches as he leaned down to claim his lips in a kiss.

Apparently that was how he decided to answer the challenge.

Which - was the right response, because Finn made a _noise_ against his lips, and he felt a hand immediately settle against his arm to steady himself when the tug made him stumble.  Finn kissed back as eagerly as Seth was kissing him, and a second noise slipped out that sounded pleased and - something else that Seth wasn't going to try to decipher, because Finn's other hand settled on his hip and Seth's brain immediately blanked and went back to being useless again.

He was vaguely aware that they were moving, or more - _he_ was moving them, turning to practically shove Finn against the hotel door - that's right, he'd barely gotten in the room before all this started, they'd barely said hello, Jesus Christ - and their muffled laughter didn't do much to stop the kiss at all.  Seth felt Finn's hand sliding up his arm and shoulder and neck and into his hair, working it free from the messy bun he'd thrown it up in earlier. And then fingers tangling in it, holding him there. He didn't let go even after Seth leaned back just enough to breathe.

"Good answer?"  How he managed to find his voice was a damn miracle, what with the way Finn was grinning up at him, far too pleased and almost _smug_ , like he'd gotten exactly what he wanted.  His voice was low and a little breathless and he was a little shocked that one kiss had done that, one damn kiss.  How long had they been kissing? He'd lost track.

"It's not a bad answer."  Finn's voice was no better than his, at least, and he went easily when the other man used the grip he had on his hair to tug him back down for another kiss, though he kept it short.  "Got anything else to say?"

There was a part of Seth that still had a handle of things, still aware despite how his brain didn't seem to work right, that would stop all of this if things went too far or got out of hand.  That would pull out if this crashed and burned like he still half-expected it to, even now. And that part knew that Finn was giving him the lead on this now. That this was in Seth's hands now, even though Finn had lead him in, freakin' trapped him as it were, and now it was up to Seth to direct how it went.  It was new and scary and overwhelming, almost to the point that he wanted to drop everything and flee from the room before he found a way to screw it up.

But instead, Seth silenced that little part of him, shoved it down with all of the thoughts he'd shoved down over the last weeks, months, and just - let himself do what he wanted instead.  He took a step back, using his hold on Finn's shirt to tug him with him, and he couldn't help but steal another kiss, hard and quick that had _him_ making a sound, one he's pretty sure he's never made before.  And then he was shoving Finn towards the bed, just this side of playful.  Because - because yeah, yeah he could have fun too. Finn was giving him the lead, letting him take the next step, and he could take it.

"Yeah.  Yeah, I got plenty to say."  He muttered, shoving Finn again to sprawl back against the bed.  Finn was laughing, but there was that look again - the one that _did_ things to Seth, and this time there was no need to take care of it in the shower because now he could show Finn _exactly_ how well his goddamn teasing worked.  


 

After, when they've caught their breath and cleaned up and stretched out Finn's bed, all the lights out except for one of the lamps on the bedside table, Finn finally broke the silence that had comfortably stretched between them, shifting up on his elbows to look at Seth.  "You know, I was starting to worry you'd never catch on."

Seth felt too exhausted and pleased and a million other things to get properly indignant or embarrassed, but that didn't stop him from lifting hand to tug at Finn's hair anyway, huffing quietly.  "You could've just, you know, _said_ something to me.  Like a normal person would.  It isn't like we don't talk all the time or anything."

Finn tilted his head into the tug with a laugh, then kept moving, shifting so he could fold his arms on top of Seth's chest to rest there instead, like Seth had intended to tug him there.  "You mean to tell me that asking you to take all of those pictures didn't clue you in? At all?"

Okay, maybe he could still get a little embarrassed.  "No." He admitted, nose wrinkling. "Not at first. I just figured it was - what you usually did.  And you needed a cameraman."

He was starting to get used to Finn being amused at his expense.  Finn dipped his head to kiss his chest, as though moving up the few inches to kiss him properly took too much effort.  "It was only a bit of that. Mostly I was trying to see if it'd get your attention." His grin turned sheepish, almost, and it was the closest Seth had ever seen Finn get to embarrassed that he could remember.  "I couldn't tell if it was working or if you were starting to get annoyed by it."

Seth couldn't help the laugh, a quiet puff of air as he dragged Finn up into a kiss, relishing the slide of their bodies together.  God, but this was so much better than privately going out of his mind in his room. Why had he let himself panic over this for so long?  He was so _stupid_.  "I was getting annoyed, yeah, but it was because I had no idea if you were doing it on purpose or not.   _And_ it was working."  He muttered the last part, and he felt more than heard Finn's answering laugh.

"Well, now you know."  Finn sounded _so_ smug, and Seth wanted to kiss him and punch him in equal measure.  He resisted both, if only because Finn kissed him first.

"So is this - " He trailed off with a curious look, unsure of how to finish the question.  Was this a one time thing? Was this something else? Something more? He didn't think Finn would tease him for months just for a one night stand, but then again, you never knew sometimes.  He pursed his lips and then shook his head. "- a thing? A thing we're doing." He finally finished, and winced at how lame it sounded.

"Do you want it to be a thing?"  Finn was sat up again, just enough to watch Seth.  Seth couldn't really read the look on his face, but if he had to guess, Finn already knew his answer.  He just wanted to hear Seth say it out loud.

"I think I do."  Seth said slowly, tentatively.  He was bad at this, putting words to things he didn't know how to talk about.  His mind could scream the answer, but as soon as it would pass to his mouth it'd get tangled up, caught in his throat like it didn't want to leave.  He wouldn't let that happen this time. "I came here tonight, didn't I? So, yeah. Yeah, I do."

It wasn't a lot of words, but it was enough to make Finn smile.  The one that did things to Seth in a different way, made his chest feel warm and made him smile in return, like he had absolutely no choice in the matter.  

They settled after that, a few lazy kisses here and there, and Finn reached over to shut off the light - basically deciding for Seth that he was spending the night there.  Which was fine with him, since his room was a whole floor away and that meant moving, and he was too comfortable to want to move. And it had been a long, long time since he'd slept with a warm body pressed against his, too.

He was just about to fall asleep before a question came to mind.

"Does this mean you're done posting those pictures?"

He could hear the grin in Finn's voice.  "Where's the fun in that?"

**Author's Note:**

> Me: Where is my Ballins fic where Seth falls for Finn's thirst trap cuz he's the cameraman for half of the pics.  
> alilyinhighgarden: :D  
> Me: . . . shit
> 
> And that's how fics are born, friends.


End file.
